Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting（筑巢）season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
You can see that birds have a language of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually________.
| A．an expression of happiness | B．a way of warning |
| C．an expression of anger | D．a way of greeting |
What does the underlined word “territory” mean?
| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted |
| B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice |
| C．An area for which birds fight against each other |
| D．An area which a bird considers to be its own |
Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
| A．Because they want to invite more friends |
| B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away |
| C．Because they want to find outsiders around |
| D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears |
How does the writer explain bird’s singing?
| A．By comparing birds with human beings |
| B．By reporting experiment results |
| C．By describing birds daily life |
| D．By telling a birds story |
C
Have you ever been afraid to talk back when you were treated unfairly? Have you ever bought something just because the salesman talked you into it? Many people are afraid to support themselves. Dr. Robert Albert， author of Stand Up， Speak Out， and Talk Back，thinks it’s because their self-respect is low. “There s always a ‘superior’ (长辈) around ˉa parent， a teacher， a boss—— who knows better.” But Albert and other scientists are doing something to help people help themselves. They offer “assertiveness(维护) training” courses——A.T. for short. In the A. T. Course people learn that they have a right to be themselves. They learn to speak out and feel good about doing so. They learn to be aggressive (进攻的) without hurting other people. In one way， learning to speak out is to get rid of fear. A group taking an A. T. Course will help the timid (懦弱的) person to lose his fear. But A. T. uses an even stronger motive (动机)——the need to share. The timid person speaks out in the group because he wants to tell how he feels. Whether or not you speak up for yourself depends on your self-respect. If someone you face is more “important” than you， you may feel less of a person. You start to doubt your answers to problems. You can get to feel good about yourself. And once you do you can learn to speak out. The problem the writer talks about is that…
| A．some people buy things they don t want |
| B．some people are afraid to speak out for their rights |
| C．there are too many superiors |
| D．some people don t think enough of themselves |
The cause of the problem talked about in this passage is that .
| A．some people have a low self-respect |
| B．there is always someone around who “knows better” |
| C．salesmen talk people into buying things they don’t want |
| D．people don t share enough |
The A.T. Course often
A. make people distrust their own answers
B. make things more favorable for “superiors”
C. help people know as much as their “superiors”
D. help people become more importantOne thing the A . T. Course don t do is to .
A. share the need of people
B. show they have a right to be themselves
C. help people overcome fear
D. help people to help themselves even if others sufferA good title for this passage could be .
| A．The Need to Share |
| B．Talk Back When Necessary |
| C．One Way to Build Self-Respect |
| D．One Way to Train Speaking Ability |
B
What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better. That's wrong. Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information. It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently. They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard saw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly." But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They're English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. People not only make history, they make language. But a people can only make its own language. It can't make another people's language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it. They should put communication first. Language is used to ________.
A. express oneself B. practice grammar rules
B. talk with foreigners only D. learn lists of wordsGenerally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.
| A．never makes mistakes | B．often makes mistakes |
| C．can't avoid making mistakes | D．always makes mistakes |
"Foreigners often speak English too correctly. "This sentence means that ________.
| A．foreigners speak correct English |
| B．foreigners speak incorrect English |
| C．foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules |
| D．foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English |
If too many native speakers break a rule, ________.
| A．what they use will become right | B．they are against the law |
| C．they should say sorry to others | D．they will become heroes |
When we speak a foreign language, we should ________.
| A．speak in Chinese way | B．speak by the rules |
| C．speak to native speakers | D．not be afraid of making mistakes |
A
The nervous-looking young man had waited for a few moments outside the jeweler's shop before he got enough courage to enter．He was warmly greeted by a young assistant. James felt a rush blood to his face as he explained he would bring in his future wife to choose a birthday present．The assistant listened carefully and told him he'd better buy a necklace. He wasn't used to buying jewelry and was a little worried about overspending. After some discussion as to reasonable price and type（类型）, the assistant showed him dozens of necklaces and helped him to choose. At last James chose one and left the shop promising to return at five o'clock. When, half an hour later, James did return to the shop with his future wife, Laura, the assistant acted as if she had never seen him before. When she was asked to show them some necklaces, she first brought out some inexpensive ones for them to choose and then gave them the one she had prepared. A choice was soon made and they went away, satisfied. James would certainly come back to buy what he wanted when he got married.A good title（题目）for this passage is ________.
| A．A Clever Assistant | B．Buying a Birthday Present |
| C．How to Choose a Necklace | D．A Brave Young Man |
Why did the young man look nervous?
| A．Because he had never bought jewelry before. |
| B．Because he would get married. |
| C．Because he didn’t have enough money to buy a satisfying present. |
| D．Because he feared he would be laughed at by shop assistants. |
The word "overspending" in this passage means ________.
| A．spending too much money |
| B．spending too much time |
| C．spending more time than be planned |
| D．spending too much time and too much money |
When James told the assistant why he wanted to buy a present, his
face________.
| A．turned pale | B．turned black | C．turned yellow | D．turned red |
James would come back to buy what he wanted because ________.
| A．the necklace was good |
| B．Laura liked the necklace |
| C．the assistant knew how to satisfy the people who came to buy things |
| D．the assistant who served James was very beautiful |
Technology: Taking the good without the bad?
Very soon, unimaginably powerful technologies will remake our lives．This could have dangerous consequences, especially because we may not even understand the basic science underlyi ng them．There’s a growing gap between our technological capability and our basic scientific understanding．We can do very clever things with the technology of the future without necessarily understanding some of the science underneath, and that is very dangerous．
The technologies that are particularly dangerous over the next hundred years are nanotechnology （纳米技术）, artificial intelligence and biotechnology．The benefits that they will bring are beyond doubt．But they are going to be very, very dangerous．I’m working in the field of artificial intelligence．I have a model design for something that might be 50,000 million times smarter than the human brain．Target date is 2010．The only thing that's not possible in the film Terminator（终结者） is that the people win．If you're fighting against technology w hich is 50,000 million times smarter than you, you probably will not win．
Nanotechnology．We've all heard of the grey glue problem, that self-replicating nanotech devices might keep on copying until the world has become sticky glue．And certainly in biotechnology, we've really got a big problem because it's converging with nanotechnology and IT．Once you start mixing nanotech with organisms and you start feeding nanotech-enabled bacteria, we can really go an awful lot further than the Borg in Star Trek（星际迷航）．And those superhuman organisms might not like us very much．
Eventually these technologies will become routine．That’s a threat to humanity．I don’t think it’s possible to slow it down．So what we need to do is accelerate the scientific research and try to get some extra tools．The problems facing us in the future are getting bigger and bigger．I think if we don’t get some proper science done, the future is hopeless indeed．From the text, we know that the author’s greatest concern is．
| A．our lack of technological understanding of the process involved |
| B．our lack of technological capability |
| C．creating technology without really understanding the basic science |
| D．Our refusal to face the consequences of the technology we create |
It can be inferred from the text that the author．
| A．thinks people overvalue the capabilities of technology |
| B．is not optimistic that artificial intelligence will always be used positively |
| C．thinks that we should take science fiction movies more seriously |
| D．believes artificial intelligence is the greatest threat we face technologically |
Why does the author say it is not possible in the film Terminator that the humans win?
| A．Because the power of the technology is exaggerated（夸大）． |
| B．Because the strength of the machines is much greater． |
| C．Because machines with that much intelligence can easily defeat humans． |
| D．Because human beings are not courageous enough to win the battle． |
English Language and Culture Program
If you wish to improve your English-language skills as well as your understanding of the Canadian cultural context, the courses offered by ELC Evening are for you. Whether your goals are academic, business or immigration-related, there is a course to meet your needs．
Evening course tuition:$490,0．
All evening courses run for 10 weeks．A $50 discount is available to returning students or students attending two or more courses．
ELC 550
Mondays, July 7 - September 22, 2008August 4 & September 11- HOLIDAY
Mondays, October 6-December 15．2008 October 13-HOLIDAY
This course is designed for non-native Englisli speakers who wish to take the 1ELTS （International English Language Testing System） exam．Each week, participants （参加者）focus on specific modules of the test （speaking, reading, listening, and writing） to develop and improve the skills they need to succeed on the exam．
ELC 552
Tuesdays, Aprils8-June 10,2008
Tuesdays, October 7 - December．16, 2008 November 11 - HOLIDAY
This course is designed for participants who wish to improve their fluency and expressiveness in English．Production skills will be targeted, including pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, and stress．Participants are required to complete weekly in-class assignments （任务）, including speeches, monologues, interviews, and role-plays．
ELC 554
Wednesdays, July 9 - September 10．2008
Wednesdays, October 8 -December 10．2008
This course is designed for non-native English-speaking university and college participants who wish to improve their academic leading and writing skills．This course gives participants the tools required for presenting information and building persuasive arguments in clear and cohesive written forms．
ELC 555
Thursdays, July 10 - September 11, 2008
Thursdays, October 9 - December 11, 2008
This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are either working or planning to work in a business environment．Areas of focus include handling telephone conversations, networking, participating in meetings, negotiating, making presentations, and conducting interviews．One only needs to pay $440 if he ______．
| A．attends 10 weeks' evening course |
| B．attends the evening courses for a second lime |
| C．finds others to take the evening course together |
| D．recommends another person to take one ot the evening courses |
Which is the proper time for one who wants to find a job in business field?
| A．Mondays, October 6 - December 15, 2008． |
| B．Tuesdays, October 7 - December 16,2008． |
| C．Wednesdays, October 8 - December 10, 2008． |
| D．Thursdays, October 9 - December 11, 2008． |
ELC 554 is most suitable for ______．
| A．a newspaper reporter | B．a university student |
| C．a businessman | D．a high school student |
ELC 550 mainly focuses on ______．
| A．college preparations |
| B．fluency and expressiveness in English |
| C．the skills needed to pass an exam |
| D．basic English knowledge |
A student who mainly wants to improve his spoken English can attend ．
| A．ELC 550 | B．ELC 552 | C．ELC 554 | D．ELC 555 |